Sonic the Hedgehog: Spare some Rings?

[Zigwat]

Alright, I'm sure that the little blue hedgehog has come up in past conversations, and I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on him as a character, and his many MANY titles that he has had over the years. However, not all of the people on this messageboard are old enough to know how great this little marvel was upon his first few original game releases.

My personal experience with him was amazing. It's the typical story of waking up one morning and finding that our parents had gotten us a Sega Genesis for Christmas (I honestly don't remember asking for one, but I was very excited). The game that came with it was Sonic The Hedgehog 2. What followed was many hours of playing with my brother through the whole game, and a whole lot of fun for many years to come with future titles. Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles (Early downloadable content, done right.)

However, even after so many great titles, it all unfortunately had to come to a close. While I had fun with Sonic R, I can see how a lot of people would not like it. Then after Sega went down the drain, the entire franchise went down down down down...

Sonic 06 is infamous for being a real pain in the ass, Sonic Fighters was a joke, and Sonic the Black Knight was Kindergarten levels of horrific! Time and time again, Sonic has been beaten and battered to the point where he has become a joke. The most notable recent game that did this was the reboot game, Sonic Boom, where-in our characters get a horrible makeover, and gameplay that should have never seen the light of day.

While there have been some decently made games after Sega went under, they are so few and far inbetween that a lot of people tend to forget about them. Sonic Generations and Sonic Color are two that come to mind, and as far as I can see, they don't really go a long way in stitching this mess together.

Now, after the company has stood around Sonic and kicked him continuously, they promise that their next title will be much better. I really hope they're telling the truth. If they finally put in enough effort to revitalize this franchise, I think it would be worth it. But then, devil's advocate, if it once again fails, I would be one to say we should probably lay our hero to rest. I think the Sonic fans have been through enough. With titles like Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Free Riders, even an early title like Sonic 3D Blast all just accumulate to a unbearably disappointing experience all together.

They had the right idea with Sonic Generations, but I think they could think of something better.

Thoughts?

[KillingAScarab]

What followed was many hours of playing with my brother through the whole game, and a whole lot of fun for many years to come with future titles. Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles (Early downloadable content, done right.)I think I would disagree on this point. Sonic & Knuckles arose out of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 being released incomplete. You can see this in the Sonic 3 sound test (if you can get the code entered (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEiDxfsJmzs&t=6m24s)) where you can play the background music for stages found in Sonic & Knuckles. The one intended benefit of splitting up the two halves of the game was that you could play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with Knuckles. The unintended benefits were the Cleaning Cart/Game Genie/Sonic & Knucles/any other cartridge tower of power and & Knuckles (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/knuckles).

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/004/655/eb6.jpg (http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1004655-knuckles)


While there have been some decently made games after Sega went under, they are so few and far inbetween that a lot of people tend to forget about them. Sonic Generations and Sonic Color are two that come to mind, and as far as I can see, they don't really go a long way in stitching this mess together.I had some fun with Sonic Colors. It could have used some more variation in its bosses, but the writing was a very specific mix of tongue-in-cheek and slapstick which I think fits these games better than any sort of serious tone. Which reminds me...

It came up in the Saddest Songs topic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?486509-Saddest-songs) that some thought Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" was trying too hard to be sad. This seems like the appropriate place to put a parody of that featuring Sonic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajvhiAwFkLs).

[Hunter Noventa]

I ended up getting a Genesis instead of a Super Nintendo, so I grew up with Sonic more than Mario. I had the original, Sonic 2, and Sonic Spinball. Man if you ever want a hard game, play Sonic Spinball. Such a weird a little spinoff, but it was fun and difficult. I only really played 3 & Knuckles via renting til I got the mega collection for the PS2.

I'm very glad I didn't get a dreamcast and keep going with sonic, the only knowledge I have of the travesty that sonic has become is second-hand via LPs and reviews.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is pretty much the best game in the whole series.

[KillingAScarab]

I ended up getting a Genesis instead of a Super Nintendo, so I grew up with Sonic more than Mario. I had the original, Sonic 2, and Sonic Spinball. Man if you ever want a hard game, play Sonic Spinball. Such a weird a little spinoff, but it was fun and difficult. I only really played 3 & Knuckles via renting til I got the mega collection for the PS2.

I'm very glad I didn't get a dreamcast and keep going with sonic, the only knowledge I have of the travesty that sonic has become is second-hand via LPs and reviews.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is pretty much the best game in the whole series.Spinball had such a different sound to it which has stuck with me, even if I could never reach the last two levels. That danger music was iconic, maybe moreso than the drowning warning from the classic series.

I only rented Sonic & Knuckles once, and didn't quite see the appeal of it at the time. Probably because that was a point where every in-print resource I had access to regarding Sonic 3 made no mention of how to pass that barrel in Carnival Night Zone act 2, so I felt no reason to connect it to The Broken Game.

I tried a demo of Sonic Adventure, but it never caught my attention. I played a considerable amount of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. The different playstyles were interesting, since it kept a game of that size from getting old, I suppose. I never particularly liked Knuckles/Rouge stages, however, and the kart racing stages had poor controls. My favorite part of the game was probably White Forest.

[GloatingSwine]

I only rented Sonic & Knuckles once, and didn't quite see the appeal of it at the time. Probably because that was a point where every in-print resource I had access to regarding Sonic 3 made no mention of how to pass that barrel in Carnival Night Zone act 2, so I felt no reason to connect it to The Broken Game.



*twitch* don't talk about the barrel man.

[Hunter Noventa]

*twitch* don't talk about the barrel man.

I never had much issue with it, but I know the horror stories. For quite a while Sega's 1-900 tip line started with how to beat that, in the recording even.

[Zigwat]

To me, Sonic 2 will always be my favorite. Sonic and Knuckles was just an amazing add-on to the whole series. Sonic 3 was definitely no slouch though.

Have any of you tried to play Sonic Boom in any capacity? I'm curious to get a normal gamer's point of view on the game

OH! And according to Gaming news, there's going to be a few Sonic titles coming out this year. According to Sega, they're not going to suck. I'll believe it when I see it.

[Fri]

As with most old Sonic fans, I grew up with Sega instead of Nintendo, so I grew up with Sonic instead of Mario. Sonic 2 is also my favourite, though Sonic 3 is not bad. My problem with Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles is that the stages are too open ended for Sonic game in my taste.

The last Sonic game that I played was the megadrive version of Sonic 3d Blast though, and you all know how that end up :smalltongue:

I never played the newer (read: after sega megadrive) games. Are there people who became sonic fan from playing the later game? I heard the dreamcast games were pretty good, but is it good enough to turn people to fan of the franchise? Judging from the number of apparently young Sonic fan, it must be.

Anyway, the sonic drowning theme still enough to give me panic attack :smallbiggrin:

[KillingAScarab]

Sonic 2 is also my favourite, though Sonic 3 is not bad. My problem with Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles is that the stages are too open ended for Sonic game in my taste.Marble Garden certainly was large enough I got lost in it. I have heard Sandopolis drags quite a bit.


The last Sonic game that I played was the megadrive version of Sonic 3d Blast though, and you all know how that end up :smalltongue:I heard the Saturn version was better, but still not great. Except for the music.


I never played the newer (read: after sega megadrive) games. Are there people who became sonic fan from playing the later game? I heard the dreamcast games were pretty good, but is it good enough to turn people to fan of the franchise? Judging from the number of apparently young Sonic fan, it must be.I think SA2:Battle was good enough to get someone hooked, particularly if you care about getting an A rank. In hindsight the audio mixing is terrible on the GameCube version. Actually, it seems the audio mixing is worst in the ports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbfXqOMf0Ak&t=34m30s) of SA2:Battle, GameCube is only as bad as original Dreamcast release.


Have any of you tried to play Sonic Boom in any capacity? I'm curious to get a normal gamer's point of view on the gameI haven't played a Sonic game since Sonic Colors.


As with most old Sonic fans, I grew up with Sega instead of Nintendo, so I grew up with Sonic instead of Mario.I realize I was in a rare position of being a child of someone who was interested enough in the industry to attend E3, though not as presenter or as press. My family ended up favoring games for Nintendo consoles, but we also had a Genesis/Mega Drive and a Game Gear.


I never had much issue with it, but I know the horror stories. For quite a while Sega's 1-900 tip line started with how to beat that, in the recording even.If I had been aware of it, I would have called that tip line. I actually called Nintedo's tip line once for Zelda II because of the mirror (http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Mirror_%28The_Adventure_of_Link%29).

[Zigwat]

One gem in the Sonic library that is criminally under discussed is Sonic CD. I get why it is so underrated, and that is because of the system it came on, the short-lived Sega CD. However, it did an amazing job for a game that used the exact same mechanics as the first two Sonic games. It gave us new and beautiful levels, and also some extra challenges with the boss fights, and maneuvering. One thing I will say against it is sometimes it goes a little overboard with the levels, and makes them a little overly confusing from time to time. The greatest thing to come of it was Metal Sonic! It is Metal Sonic's first appearance in a game, and his first impression cemented him in the Sonic Lore.

If only Silver had such an awesome first appearance, maybe he wouldn't have faded into the obscurity that is Sonic 06 :smallamused:

[KillingAScarab]

One gem in the Sonic library that is criminally under discussed is Sonic CD. I get why it is so underrated, and that is because of the system it came on, the short-lived Sega CD. However, it did an amazing job for a game that used the exact same mechanics as the first two Sonic games. It gave us new and beautiful levels, and also some extra challenges with the boss fights, and maneuvering. One thing I will say against it is sometimes it goes a little overboard with the levels, and makes them a little overly confusing from time to time. The greatest thing to come of it was Metal Sonic! It is Metal Sonic's first appearance in a game, and his first impression cemented him in the Sonic Lore.I haven't ever played CD. It seems like the Retro Engine remake (http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_CD#2011_re-release) is the way to play it, since then you may not only choose between soundtracks but also which spin dash to use.

As for Metal Sonic, it was an interesting pick in multiplayer in SA2:Battle, but I didn't know or really care about it until Super Mario Bros Z (http://smbz.wikia.com/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._Z_%282006_series%29).


If only Silver had such an awesome first appearance, maybe he wouldn't have faded into the obscurity that is Sonic 06 :smallamused:Doesn't Sonic Generations have all the Silver anyone needs, anyway? His game erases itself from the timeline, after all.

[Grif]

One gem in the Sonic library that is criminally under discussed is Sonic CD. I get why it is so underrated, and that is because of the system it came on, the short-lived Sega CD. However, it did an amazing job for a game that used the exact same mechanics as the first two Sonic games. It gave us new and beautiful levels, and also some extra challenges with the boss fights, and maneuvering. One thing I will say against it is sometimes it goes a little overboard with the levels, and makes them a little overly confusing from time to time. The greatest thing to come of it was Metal Sonic! It is Metal Sonic's first appearance in a game, and his first impression cemented him in the Sonic Lore.

If only Silver had such an awesome first appearance, maybe he wouldn't have faded into the obscurity that is Sonic 06 :smallamused:

It actually lacked Sonic 2 spindash, and took more from the first game than the second (which as I'm aware, was developed by a separate team concurrently). It is underrated, I give you that, and the levels were actually huge compared to Sonic 2.

[danzibr]

I actually haven't played that many Sonic games. The original, then 2, 3, Sonic & Knuckles (with 2 and 3 of course), Knuckles' Chaotix (which I never beat), and some PS3 games which I never beat.

I wonder... any Sonic RPG's out there? A quick Google search tells me the only ones are janky RPGmaker ones, but ya never know.

[GloatingSwine]

I wonder... any Sonic RPG's out there? A quick Google search tells me the only ones are janky RPGmaker ones, but ya never know.

There's one on the DS.

By Bioware, of all studios.

(Not actually very good mind, but there you go.)

[KillingAScarab]

I wonder... any Sonic RPG's out there? A quick Google search tells me the only ones are janky RPGmaker ones, but ya never know.


There's one on the DS.

By Bioware, of all studios.

(Not actually very good mind, but there you go.)The Dark Brotherhood (http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Chronicles:_The_Dark_Brotherhood) was also meant to be the first installment of Sonic Chronicles, but it is currently the only installment and it ends on a cliffhanger. I understand it relies very heavily on touch screen input, to the point that you even need to play a minigame where you touch your party members to successfully run away from a battle. If you want an RPG on the Nintendo DS which makes use of the touchscreen somewhat during combat, I would recommend Glory of Heracles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_of_Heracles) over that.

[Zevox]

There's one on the DS.

By Bioware, of all studios.

(Not actually very good mind, but there you go.)
It's not bad, either. The writing is actually enjoyable, not taking itself too seriously, and while there's imbalances to the combat, that's decent enough. Honestly, for when it came out, it was one of the best Sonic games in a long while - that whole period between Adventure 2 and Colors/Generations was pretty bleak.

I'd actually like for it to get the sequel they teased at the end. But alas, at this point it's pretty obvious it isn't happening.

[Rodin]

It's not bad, either. The writing is actually enjoyable, not taking itself too seriously, and while there's imbalances to the combat, that's decent enough. Honestly, for when it came out, it was one of the best Sonic games in a long while - that whole period between Adventure 2 and Colors/Generations was pretty bleak.

I'd actually like for it to get the sequel they teased at the end. But alas, at this point it's pretty obvious it isn't happening.

I was going to say that I'm baffled about a Sonic RPG existing, but then I remembered Super Mario RPG.

Latest Sonic game I tried was Sonic Rush. All I really remember about it was that the plot was inane (and incomprehensible for someone moving from Sonic 3 to that game without playing any of the intervening ones) and that the level design had serious flaws. On any given stage, when you were going fast enough that the camera could barely keep up, there was the possibility of slamming into a wall and then vanishing down a bottomless pit.

I was not amused, and haven't been back to Sonic since. Been tempted a couple times, mind, but really I've been waiting for that "Holy Grail" game to come out that gets universally praised. I don't think that's happened yet.

[KillingAScarab]

I was not amused, and haven't been back to Sonic since. Been tempted a couple times, mind, but really I've been waiting for that "Holy Grail" game to come out that gets universally praised. I don't think that's happened yet.While I haven't looked for detractors of it specifically, the harshest criticisms I'm aware of for Sonic Generations was that there wasn't much story and characters are very talkative during the final boss fight.

[Zevox]

While I haven't looked for detractors of it specifically, the harshest criticisms I'm aware of for Sonic Generations was that there wasn't much story and characters are very talkative during the final boss fight.
I'd say the final boss fight was poorly designed in general - I recall having a lot of trouble with it for some reason and never being able to figure out why. But yeah, Generations is certainly the best Sonic game in a long time. And at the rate things are currently going, possibly the last good one we'll ever get...

[KillingAScarab]

I'd say the final boss fight was poorly designed in general - I recall having a lot of trouble with it for some reason and never being able to figure out why. But yeah, Generations is certainly the best Sonic game in a long time. And at the rate things are currently going, possibly the last good one we'll ever get...Sonic Colors had a final boss fight which worked OK as I recall. Perhaps a bit easy.
It is, however, followed by a second act which, while not long, you can fail.
I think I can still recommend Sonic Colors, Rodin. Final boss aside, I will still probably pick up Generations at some point. Perhaps the PC version for the Unleashed Project (http://www.moddb.com/mods/sonic-generations-unleashed-project).

Regarding post-Generations games, I have been going over SomeCallMeJohnny's reviews of Sonic games. After watching the review of the two Sonic Boom games, Shattered Crystal definitely seems like the better of the two. Backtracking-to-advance is different than I would expect from a Sonic game. I'm more willing to give long exploration a chance on a handheld console now that I have played Majora's Mask on the 3DS, but that isn't a platformer. I think I'll try to finish Shantae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantae), first.

[Geno9999]

It's not bad, either. The writing is actually enjoyable, not taking itself too seriously, and while there's imbalances to the combat, that's decent enough. Honestly, for when it came out, it was one of the best Sonic games in a long while - that whole period between Adventure 2 and Colors/Generations was pretty bleak.

I'd actually like for it to get the sequel they teased at the end. But alas, at this point it's pretty obvious it isn't happening.

From what I've heard, Sonic Chronicles got into brief legal trouble with Ken Penders, one of the former writer/artists of Archie Comic's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, because the game copied the characters that Ken created (basically the entire concept of the Echidnas having a technology-centric splinter culture, and naturally the characters that were part of said Techno-Echidna group.) According to Wikipedia, the case was dismissed at least two times, but it and the relatively lukewarm reviews is probably the reason why there aren't any sequels to Sonic Chronicles.

Ken leaving and trying to claim ownership of the comic-only characters he wrote is also basically the entire reason why the Archie Comic's Sonic the Hedgehog series just did a reboot of the entire series.

[Zigwat]

I wasn't a huge fan of Sonic Chronicles, but I can see how some people would like it. Honestly, they've tried a lot of things with Sonic, especially the Mario Party Clone they created, which was atrocious, and there were many other failed experiments they tried back in the day. So far, it seems the classic Sonic Games were the most successful, and the Sonic Adventure games as well. Other than those, a couple of the 3D platformers were decently received and that's about it. I'm sure there were others out there but it takes some research to look into them as a lot of them were pretty obscure.

[Zevox]

From what I've heard, Sonic Chronicles got into brief legal trouble with Ken Penders, one of the former writer/artists of Archie Comic's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, because the game copied the characters that Ken created (basically the entire concept of the Echidnas having a technology-centric splinter culture, and naturally the characters that were part of said Techno-Echidna group.) According to Wikipedia, the case was dismissed at least two times, but it and the relatively lukewarm reviews is probably the reason why there aren't any sequels to Sonic Chronicles.

Ken leaving and trying to claim ownership of the comic-only characters he wrote is also basically the entire reason why the Archie Comic's Sonic the Hedgehog series just did a reboot of the entire series.
Huh. I did read Sonic comics way back when, and I remember the Echidna group you're talking about (the Dark Legion, or something to that effect, I want to say), which yeah, have some similarities to the Echidnas that show up in Chronicles, but I don't recall any characters that were straight out of the comics or blatant rip-offs of ones from the comics being in the game.

Eh, whatever. That's too bad, but I think the underwhelming reception of the game would've kept it from getting a sequel either way, personally.

[Zigwat]

Alright, here's a question. I've heard all kinds of things about Sonic Underground. I've heard that it was absolutely horrible, but I've also heard of fans sticking by it through anything. I tried to watch it once, and I honestly don't remember why I didn't. I do remember I didn't like the theme song at all, but that wouldn't stop me from actually watching the series. Still, Sonic is trying to find his mom... that sounds like the entire premise. Oh, and he has two siblings. What's up with that?

[RoyVG]

I used to watch the Sonic cartoon (Not SatAM or Underground, the corny one) back in the day which got me a little hooked on the Sonic franchise, but I never played any of the games until I got a Gamecube and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. That game made me an instant fan for quite some time. I stayed a pretty big fan until around the release of Sonic 2006 where my interest in the franchise started to go down. I played Unleashed, Colors and Generations but never finished it. I couldn't be bothered to boot up Sonic Galaxy Lost World and I never bought Sonic Boom.

I sure hope that whatever game Sega got planned for Sonic's 25th Aniversary, I hope it's going to be at least Generations-quality. We will see in July

[Zigwat]

Oh, man, Adventures of Sonic, I swear that is one of the most half-assed shows ever made, and for some reason it had all kinds of seasons. Then Sonic Sat AM gets one single season and leaves off on a cliff hanger. I mean what the hell?! Just because it costs more money, it gets derailed. Adventures of Sonic is a tub of subpar ice cream whereas Sonic AM is Haagen-Dazs, but in a little cup. It's really kind of sad how that worked out.

[KillingAScarab]

Alright, here's a question. I've heard all kinds of things about Sonic Underground. I've heard that it was absolutely horrible, but I've also heard of fans sticking by it through anything. I tried to watch it once, and I honestly don't remember why I didn't. I do remember I didn't like the theme song at all, but that wouldn't stop me from actually watching the series. Still, Sonic is trying to find his mom... that sounds like the entire premise. Oh, and he has two siblings. What's up with that?Huh. I never heard anything about it before now. So... Sonic had a laser guitar? And that was right before Sonic Adventure was going to come out and use... absolutely none of these ideas? :smallconfused:


I used to watch the Sonic cartoon (Not SatAM or Underground, the corny one) back in the day which got me a little hooked on the Sonic franchise...

Oh, man, Adventures of Sonic, I swear that is one of the most half-assed shows ever made, and for some reason it had all kinds of seasons. Then Sonic Sat AM gets one single season and leaves off on a cliff hanger. I mean what the hell?! Just because it costs more money, it gets derailed. Adventures of Sonic is a tub of subpar ice cream whereas Sonic AM is Haagen-Dazs, but in a little cup. It's really kind of sad how that worked out.Adventures of Sonic characters ended up in one additional game than Saturday morning Sonic characters did, but at least they both appeared in Spinball... which has a roller coaster (http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Spinball_%28roller_coaster%29)??


I sure hope that whatever game Sega got planned for Sonic's 25th Aniversary, I hope it's going to be at least Generations-quality. We will see in JulySo many 25th anniversaries this year. I always forget what the formal gifts are; is that the power ring anniversary or the chaos emerald anniversary?

[xyz]

Sonic is dead. Sega killed him. They're just parading his mangled corpse on strings and sticks now.

[Zigwat]

Yeah, thanks for quoting Zero Punctuation, but we're actually here to talk about Sonic in his hayday and in his decline. So... yeah, some better input would be appreciated.



Huh. I never heard anything about it before now. So... Sonic had a laser guitar? And that was right before Sonic Adventure was going to come out and use... absolutely none of these ideas? :smallconfused:

Noooo Adventures of Sonic came out WAAAYYYY before Underground, but they were both voiced by Urkle or however you spell his name. If I remember correctly, Sonic X was the first series where he was not the voice. Sonic X was pretty good as I recall, though I didn't watch it much.

Edit: Oh damn, you mean Sonic Adventure the game. My bad. But yeah, who would use anything from Underground? I've only read things about it, and they all sound like terrible ideas. Though meeting Sonic's canonical mother would be very interesting... I wonder if he ever did have a canon mother or father?

[KillingAScarab]

Edit: Oh damn, you mean Sonic Adventure the game. My bad. But yeah, who would use anything from Underground? I've only read things about it, and they all sound like terrible ideas. Though meeting Sonic's canonical mother would be very interesting... I wonder if he ever did have a canon mother or father?Well, Adventures of Sonic was what gave him a favorite food, right? As long as there aren't license/property disputes, they could pull material from Underground. Giving him something tied to his age would be odd, but who knows? Maybe the next attempt at an RPG will need some parental figures for him to avenge/to tell him to get out of bed at the start?

[Zigwat]

Very true, it was the first show to give him a love for chili dogs, which was an odd choice but at the same time, hey, it's a character trait, so why not? As for an RPG... if they went the route of Mario RPG, I would be all for it, but the last RPG, as stated before, was a mixed bag, and in the end, not especially worth the time playing. So I'd be on the fence whether an RPG should be attempted again. I don't know what kind of a game they should make next, so far 3D Sonic stages just haven't been panning out very well. If they screw up the next Sonic game, perhaps they should just lay the franchise to rest... but of course they're not going to.

[cobaltstarfire]

*twitch* don't talk about the barrel man.

It is good to know that I'm not the only one that got stuck there....I'm not even sure how I figured it out or if I did at all (might have looked it up?)

I was only able to play Sonic 3 & Knuckles via an old PC Sega All Stars cd or something that I got for suuuper cheap at some office store. So I'm also not familiar with a lot of the music because some of it was changed for the PC release.


The most recent sonic game I played was Colors (console version) And I really enjoyed it, most of the music was very enjoyable (especially the water world music), it handled fairly well, and the Eggman quips playing over loud speaker in the background were highly entertaining.

I think Sonic Games do much better when they stick to a simpler story, though I did like certain aspects of SA and SA2, and Hero's was....well it was ok, buggy and weird but still had some fun parts.

The RPG...made me sad. The end left me feeling super cheated, and the battle system would have been better and less bland had it all played more like the final battle...


Tails is my favorite character though, and since he's fallen by the wayside I haven't been as interested in Sonic games...

[GloatingSwine]

It is good to know that I'm not the only one that got stuck there....I'm not even sure how I figured it out or if I did at all (might have looked it up?)



Worst thing is, I know I've gone back to the game at least twice and forgotten how to do it both times.



Some of Sonic 3's music was composed in part by Michael Jackson. A lot of chord progressions are very similar. (Ice Cap Zone is Smooth Criminal, Carnival Night Zone is Jam, the credits theme is Stranger in Moscow which wasn't released until after the game), but he wasn't credited (possibly due to personal scandals and possibly for contract reasons, like his Simpsons appearance).

[Fri]

I'm actually confused about all these barrel references, since I never heard of it before. Which part of sonic is this?

[cobaltstarfire]

I'm actually confused about all these barrel references, since I never heard of it before. Which part of sonic is this?

In one of the carnival zone levels of sonic (3?)


There is a barrel you must pass. The barrel bounces when you jump on it, and it blocks the way through.

In order to get past the barrel you have to stand on the barrel (not jump) and push up and down on the control pad rhythmically, this will make the barrel go up and down higher/lower until it's low enough to move forward.

It's just extremely unintuitive what you need to do to make it past that barrel. I remember dying to time out at least once just trying to jump on it just right in hopes that it'd let me squeeze through the hole.

[Grif]

In one of the carnival zone levels of sonic (3?)


There is a barrel you must pass. The barrel bounces when you jump on it, and it blocks the way through.

In order to get past the barrel you have to stand on the barrel (not jump) and push up and down on the control pad rhythmically, this will make the barrel go up and down higher/lower until it's low enough to move forward.

It's just extremely unintuitive what you need to do to make it past that barrel. I remember dying to time out at least once just trying to jump on it just right in hopes that it'd let me squeeze through the hole.

Carnival Night Act 2. Possibly the single biggest wall preventing progression. :smalltongue:

[Fri]

Huh weird. I remember that part, but never remember it's as particularly confusing.

Though to be fair, I used to watch my older cousin play most of the games I had (I had this strange inclement as a kid to buy games that I've seen/played in other people's house instead of games that I've never seen before, so I basically have second-hand knowledge on most classic sega games before I played them.

[KillingAScarab]

I wish we lived in a world without the barrel (http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Barrel_%28gimmick%29), but we do not. I can't count the hours I wasted looking for an alternate path which avoided it. The ability to move it slightly (but never enough) by jumping on it was also a false signal for how to solve that puzzle.


Some of Sonic 3's music was composed in part by Michael Jackson. A lot of chord progressions are very similar. (Ice Cap Zone is Smooth Criminal...Actually, Ice Cap Zone is straight-up "Hard Times" by The Jetzons (http://ocremix.org/community/topic/36680-ice-cap-zone-before-ice-cap-zone-song-origin-finally-revealed/), but the keyboardist worked on Ice Cap Zone, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2OWC5Hosv8

At least the circumstances around this are better than "Move Any Mountain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfQ98A-6mG8)" by Shamen as inspiration for "Under Logic" in Streets of Rage 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFUm8YmyXU). As far as I know, those two projects didn't share any staff and "Move Any Mountain" was released.

Anyway, while I became very familiar with "Under Logic," I never heard Ice Cap Zone before I had Internet access. Ice Cap Zone comes immediately after Carnival Night Zone.



I was only able to play Sonic 3 & Knuckles via an old PC Sega All Stars cd or something that I got for suuuper cheap at some office store. So I'm also not familiar with a lot of the music because some of it was changed for the PC release.I ended up picking up the Mega Collection Plus (http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Mega_Collection) when I randomly found it in a used book shop... even though it had a PEGI rating and the shop was in North America. Works fine on my PC and what I have heard of it so far seems accurate to the Genesis and Game Gear games I was already familiar with. You do have to jump through hoops to unlock games, but you can just edit an INI file (http://info.sonicretro.org/Cheat_Codes:Sonic_Mega_Collection_Plus).


The most recent sonic game I played was Colors (console version) And I really enjoyed it, most of the music was very enjoyable (especially the water world music), it handled fairly well, and the Eggman quips playing over loud speaker in the background were highly entertaining.


Tails is my favorite character though, and since he's fallen by the wayside I haven't been as interested in Sonic games...Sonic and Tails have some pretty nice dialog in Colors, but yeah, it was too bad Tails was never playable at any point. Planet Wisp had my favorite background music (a good bass like Sweet Mountain but without the abundance of horns), but Aquarium Park had some very nice music, too. I think Act 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Xm3dBuDaE&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3qp1b8ALs49yU30KvC9D_3&index=3) was my favorite out of that set. That act also let you jump underwater forever and the music would be muffled while you were down there.

[Zigwat]

Yeah that's true! Tails was one of the things that made Sonic 2 so awesome! My big brother, of course, was Sonic, and I got to play as Tails. While he was the main character, I actually ran back up quite well, and as Tails I never really died so I could do the dangerous stuff without having to worry about it! I loved playing as Tails and now they screwed it up by taking him pretty well out of the games. He's not in Sonic Generations as a playable character, in fact I don't even remember when was the last time he was a playable character as a 2nd player function. Could you play as him in Sonic Boom?

[Hunter Noventa]

Yeah that's true! Tails was one of the things that made Sonic 2 so awesome! My big brother, of course, was Sonic, and I got to play as Tails. While he was the main character, I actually ran back up quite well, and as Tails I never really died so I could do the dangerous stuff without having to worry about it! I loved playing as Tails and now they screwed it up by taking him pretty well out of the games. He's not in Sonic Generations as a playable character, in fact I don't even remember when was the last time he was a playable character as a 2nd player function. Could you play as him in Sonic Boom?

Pretty sure Sonic Boom didn't have any kind of local multiplayer.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles was the best for playing second player tails, if only because you could fly Sonic around and have fun exploring.

[KillingAScarab]

Yeah that's true! Tails was one of the things that made Sonic 2 so awesome! My big brother, of course, was Sonic, and I got to play as Tails. While he was the main character, I actually ran back up quite well, and as Tails I never really died so I could do the dangerous stuff without having to worry about it! I loved playing as Tails and now they screwed it up by taking him pretty well out of the games. He's not in Sonic Generations as a playable character, in fact I don't even remember when was the last time he was a playable character as a 2nd player function.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles was the best for playing second player tails, if only because you could fly Sonic around and have fun exploring.You know how I mentioned my family favored Nintendo consoles? It is a sorely missed opportunity that it wasn't until New Super Mario Bros. Wii that there was any sort of co-operative platforming in the Mario franchise, and even then it was just as easy to hinder your fellow players as help them. Donkey Kong Country Returns did a better job of mimicking what Sonic and Tails accomplished in Sonic 3.

But in Sonic 2, Tails dies soooo much.

[cobaltstarfire]

If Tails wasn't available in the most recent ones (generations, and that one where they redesigned the characters) one of the last games he would have been somewhat playable in would have been the RPG, where he filled a support/healer role with the use of his inventions.

For platforming the last time he would have been playable in a traditional sense (not in his walker, or "fly" formation in Heros) would have probably been one of the Sonic Advance games? Was Tails ever playable in Sonic Rush?


Hmm or Sonic Riders? I actually really liked Sonic Riders...

(I also like Blaze the Cat...)

edit:

Tails doesn't "die alot" for me, because I usually play Tails solo...if it was Sonic+Tails it would usually have a friend on Sonic...except for harder stuff where I'd have to take over as Sonic.

[KillingAScarab]

Could you play as him in Sonic Boom?

Pretty sure Sonic Boom didn't have any kind of local multiplayer.

If Tails wasn't available in the most recent ones (generations, and that one where they redesigned the characters) one of the last games he would have been somewhat playable in would have been the RPG, where he filled a support/healer role with the use of his inventions.Tails is one of the four playable characters in both Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, and Rise of Lyric does have local co-op.


edit:

Tails doesn't "die alot" for me, because I usually play Tails solo...if it was Sonic+Tails it would usually have a friend on Sonic...except for harder stuff where I'd have to take over as Sonic.True. If you're playing Sonic 2 solo, there's no need to bring along another character who is going to collect rings and get hit by mines in the special stages.

Which reminds me, I came across a ROM hack which put Amy Rose and Cream in Sonic 2 (Pink Edition (http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2:_Pink_Edition), which looks like a nice change of pace) and one of the videos I saw noted that it was rare for there to be custom sprites for the special stages. Who else was impressed by the Sonic 2 special stages when you first saw the characters' back sprites?

[Hunter Noventa]

Tails is one of the four playable characters in both Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, and Rise of Lyric does have local co-op.

I just assumed that Sonic Boom, being Sonic Boom, had it implemented in such a horrible fashion that it might as well not even be there. Can you blame?

[KillingAScarab]

I just assumed that Sonic Boom, being Sonic Boom, had it implemented in such a horrible fashion that it might as well not even be there. Can you blame?I have not played either game, but from the SomeCallMeJohnny review, you seem close to correct on that. Rise of Lyric has slowdown and skipping which he said became worse in co-op, and the team challenges did not sound as interresting to me as the multiplayer races in Sonic 2.

[Grif]

You know how I mentioned my family favored Nintendo consoles? It is a sorely missed opportunity that it wasn't until New Super Mario Bros. Wii that there was any sort of co-operative platforming in the Mario franchise, and even then it was just as easy to hinder your fellow players as help them. Donkey Kong Country Returns did a better job of mimicking what Sonic and Tails accomplished in Sonic 3.

But in Sonic 2, Tails dies soooo much.

Well, all that dying definitely paid off in Sonic 3. :smallwink:

[Zigwat]

Yeah, the dying didn't affect Tails at all, he always came back and was ready to handle the big jobs! Not to mention if you do it right on the boss fights, you hit Robotnik as Sonic, and Tails came in with a second hit every time. It's win win.

[Hunter Noventa]

Yeah, the dying didn't affect Tails at all, he always came back and was ready to handle the big jobs! Not to mention if you do it right on the boss fights, you hit Robotnik as Sonic, and Tails came in with a second hit every time. It's win win.

And if you do it wrong tails will hit him first, and you go through Robotnik and fall to your gooey demise. At least in the Chemical Plant Zone.

[KillingAScarab]

And if you do it wrong tails will hit him first, and you go through Robotnik and fall to your gooey demise. At least in the Chemical Plant Zone.Right. Its a firey loss of rings in Hilltop Zone and an oily mess in Oil Ocean Zone.

Ah, Chemical Plant Zone. The hometown of automated sequences in Sonic games. I think the only Sonic 2 BGM I liked better was Mystic Cave Zone. And when you combine the two... (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01945)